America's obesity problem is on the rise. Again. According to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 40 percent of American adults are obese, the highest rates ever recorded in the country. Obesity can lead to diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. The childhood obesity rate, for ages 6-19, has increased to a concerning 20%. Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association.

5 things moms can do to reduce child obesity risk, according to a new study

Having excess body fat, measured as body mass index, can put children at higher risk of other chronic health conditions and diseases, including asthma, Type 2 diabetes, bone and joint problems, sleep apnea and heart disease.

In a new study published this week in the journal BMJ, researchers from several universities, including from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, tracked nearly 17,000 female nurses and their kids to observe how mothers’ habits may influence risk of childhood obesity. A total of 24,289 children ages 9-14 of the 16,945 nurses were followed throughout the 1990s as part of the study.

“This association was similar across sex and age groups and persisted in subgroups of children with various risk profiles defined by factors such as pregnancy complications, birth weight, gestational age, and gestational weight gain,” authors wrote in the report.

With one in five American children and adolescents aged 6-19 diagnosed as obese, researchers hope the new study highlights “the potential benefits of implementing family or parental based multifactorial interventions to curb the risk of childhood obesity.”

It’s important to note, however, that genetics do influence a child’s propensity to obesity. But the rapid incline in obesity rates, authors suggested, may imply “nurture” is a more significant factor than “nature” in the current epidemic.

Limitations

Some limitations, according to the researchers, include self-reported data on body weight and lifestyle characteristics. While self-reported data is subject to error, “the accuracy of self reported body weight has been examined in a validation study among a random subset of NHSII participants living in the Boston area, and their self reported weight were found to be highly reliable,” authors noted.

They also mention that prospective research on a father’s role in childhood obesity risk is needed.

Additionally, the participant pool was relatively homogenous when it comes to socioeconomic status and educational attainment.